County Clerk Laura McGuire told members of the Election Commission on Monday the county was presented in June with grant funds to purchase 10 tablets that will electronically host the county’s poll books. These tablets will be used at polling stations throughout the county, Election Coordinator Sherry Polsgrove said.

In the future, the election headquarters will be equipped with electronic poll books as well.

Commissioners agreed they preferred to wait to implement the tablets until the May 2014 primary elections, citing concerns with attempting to get the equipment and train poll workers ahead of the upcoming Aug. 13 and Sept. 10 special elections or the Sept. 17 school board election.

The grant was given in the amount of $10,732.

Not included was $919.92 for sales tax and $2,500 for software that will allow the tablets to function with the clerk’s voter registration system.

Those funds must be approved for appropriation by the Quorum Court.

The commission noted early voting for the Sept. 17 school board election will be held during the Sept. 10 special election.

Polsgrove said voting will be separated into two different areas to allow for both to occur simultaneously.

Anything that is digital can be compromised. Given the sensitive nature of private information, and the fact that constitutional privacy is not generally regarded as sacrosanct in smaller communities, the tendency of this information to be released to the public in improper ways (such as poll results WHILE an election is in progress) is an issue that concerns me.

I am disturbed that the election process is becoming more, and more digital.